Gators' secondary a bright spot so far

While Florida's sometimes struggling offense has garnered much of the attention the first two weeks of the season, the Gators' defense has been solid, particularly its secondary.

Senior S Ahmad Black is tied for tops in the nation with three INT’s, while Janoris Jenkins is tied for No. 3 nationally with two.

Perhaps most surprising is the Gators are thriving without S Will Hill, arguably their best secondary player, who was suspended the first two games, and surviving the loss of CB Moses Jenkins who is out with an elbow injury.

“Every time the ball is in the air, it’s ours,’’ Jenkins said. “We’re going at it like Ninjas.’’

Florida coach Urban Meyer said Black and Jenkins are playing like the coaching staff knew they could, but he's cautious about making sure they don't become too comfortable.

"I think they are great players, we kind of expect that out of those two guys, it's not new,'' Meyer said. "Ahmad Black intercepts passes by being in the right spot at the right time. Janoris Jenkins right now has got a tremendous work ethic and he needs to keep being Janoris Jenkins. Around here, sometimes they get anointed and become something else so we've got to make sure that doesn't happen."

Florida is also getting some solid contributions from several young secondary players, including Josh Evans, Cody Riggs and Jaylen Watkins.

“They are helping us and it gives us a little bit of depth in the back end,'' Black said. "I’m excited to go out there with Janoris and Jeremy Brown, but they have to take a breather. I feel comfortable with the young guys coming in and stepping up the way they do.”

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